


Flame-Warmed Affection, Sustenance for Lonely Souls (Day Three- Caught In a Storm)

by swampslip



Series: RDR Sapphic Week 2020 [3]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Gangs, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, F/F, Huddling For Warmth, Mentioned Character Death, Pre-Relationship, Snowed In, Widowed, adler ranch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:29:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swampslip/pseuds/swampslip
Summary: Charlotte fills the silence better than Sadie ever could, talking about anything and every thing and some thing’s that Sadie doesn’t even know.They build a tentative routine, helping each other as Sadie subtly teaches Charlotte the skills to live on a ranch.Dawn has passed unnoticed, a few times, when they’re sitting by the fire in the night and drinking to stay warm, speaking to stay sane.Every night it seems an inch or two or dissolved between them, their chairs pressing closer.
Relationships: Sadie Adler/Charlotte Balfour
Series: RDR Sapphic Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978327
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23
Collections: RDR Sapphic Week 2020





	Flame-Warmed Affection, Sustenance for Lonely Souls (Day Three- Caught In a Storm)

The knock on the door instills just as much hope in her as fear.

Sadie grabs the shotgun from next to her seat by the fireplace and slowly stands, smoothing down the layers of wool skirts and hiding the length of the gun behind the bulk as she moves to the front door. 

“Who’s it?” Sadie calls out, but she’s not sure she’ll be heard over the roaring wind, blowing snow clear sideways through the air. 

There’s a pinch of concern in her gut, that whoever is out there has been in this freezing hell-storm for God knows how long…

Sadie curses under her breath and opens the door despite her better judgment, lifting the shotgun. 

The business end meets the wide eyes of a woman near her own age, with dark hair blown into a mess of knots, and a dirty dress, far too thin for this weather. 

Sadie doesn’t speak, studies the woman closely. 

“I-” The woman struggles to voice anything at first, hoarse and dry, lips cracked and expression desperate, “I’m not here to hurt you… Though I doubt between the two of us and… _That_ , I’d manage anything if I tried.”

Sadie narrows her eyes at the woman, scanning her dress and seeing the soaked, muddy hem. 

“Why are you out here dressed like it’s-” Sadie feels a tug of pity in her gut, replacing that earlier concern, and drops the rifle with a sigh, stepping out of the way, “Get in here.”

The woman stares at the gun for a moment, then looks behind her with a great sense of remorse and hurries over the threshold. 

“I’m sorry my shoes are in such a state- I don’t mean to impose or make a mess-” The woman says, shivering as she adjusts to the warmth and Sadie slams the door shut against the wind, staring balefully down at the snow blown onto her floor. 

“S’fine,” Sadie mutters, moving to grab a broom and a towel to sop up the water when the snow melts, “The hell kinda fool are you out in this weather?”

“… The biggest kind,” The woman says softly, an undercurrent of guilt that Sadie feels echo in her own chest, making her swallow thickly. 

“Well, that makes two of us,” Sadie sets the shotgun against the table next to her seat and gestures the woman closer awkwardly, “Come over here, ‘front of the fire.”

“Thank you,” The woman says and her gaze lowers, face going soft in relief, stepping around the rug to not dirty it and slowly, stiffly crouching by the fire. 

“I know it’s temptin’… Don’t warm up too quick, or hold your hands too close,” Sadie says quietly and starts moving around her home with more intent, gathering thick socks and a pail to store the soiled clothes, mixed layers of Jake’s and her own garments, “How much of you is numb you might not be able to feel your skin burnin’.”

“Have you dealt with this before?” The woman asks softly, “What dreadful weather for a ranch.”

“Snows hard, a few times a year, here, lasts for weeks,” Sadie says, coming back over with everything she’s gathered, “You should change, when you can… If you want there’s a screen-”

Sadie gestures towards the bath, the partition, then the fire. 

“But if I were you I wouldn’t stray far from the warmth for now.”

“No- Of course,” Charlotte looks down at herself as she straightens up, “This poor dress…”

Sadie huffs a small laugh, in disbelief and amusement at this strange woman. 

“… I know that’s silly,” The woman says and slowly her trembling hands reach for the buttons at her spine, “It’s just a dress.”

“You could salvage it, couple good washes and a fresh hemmin’,” Sadie says, then eyes the other woman skeptically, “If you know how to sew.”

“I know… Cross stitch,” The woman says self-deprecatingly, “Silk embroidery?” 

Sadie watches silently as the woman’s finger struggle to find and undo the buttons, looking off to the side for a moment then sighing and moving to stand behind the woman. 

“Let me,” Sadie mutters and bats the woman’s hands away, “What’s your name?”

“Charlotte, Charlie-” Charlotte trails off then clears her throat, “To some.”

“Well, Charlotte-Charlie, I’m Sadie,” Sadie murmurs and gets to the top button at the back of Charlotte’s collar, then steps back, “Put what’s soiled in the pail, I’ll get you a comb as well.”

\--

Charlotte is layered in wool and cotton flannel and the thickest socks Sadie could find that weren’t in the pile of “to-be-mended”. 

Sadie instructs her to sit in her usual chair as she herself sits in what used to be Jake’s chair. 

“You live out here alone?”

“Lately.”

“… Oh,” Charlotte laughs awkwardly, “We’re much in the same position… Regarding that, at least.”

“Did your husband not teach you how to live out here or-”

“He didn’t know either,” Charlotte says thickly, “This… This was our little adventure away from the city, trying to find a life with more meaning to it but- Well, he found death, I found you.”

Sadie presses her lips together and hums her sympathy. 

There’s at least a week of this weather left, but luckily she’s long been in the habit of keeping food stocked for two.

\--

Charlotte fills the silence better than Sadie ever could, talking about anything and every thing and some thing’s that Sadie doesn’t even know. 

They build a tentative routine, helping each other as Sadie subtly teaches Charlotte the skills to live on a ranch. 

Dawn has passed unnoticed, a few times, when they’re sitting by the fire in the night and drinking to stay warm, speaking to stay sane. 

Every night it seems an inch or two or dissolved between them, their chairs pressing closer. 

\--

“Gosh,” Charlotte says shakily and rubs her hands down her arms, “Is it colder tonight?” 

There’s still hay clinging to the bottom of Jake’s coat that Charlotte is wearing, having just been out to tend to the sheep, something the woman took kindly to. 

Adoring petting the fleece and the wagging of tails as she gives each sheep their feed. 

“A bit,” Sadie says and gestures towards the fire, “Go warm up.”

“You look just as cold as me,” Charlotte says, shucks her gloves, and grabs Sadie’s hands, “Look at us, a pair of freezing widows.”

Sadie doesn’t say anything, a twisting of irritation in her gut, she wants to lash out-

But Charlotte doesn’t deserve that. 

She lets Charlotte lead her to the fire and pull her down so they’re both sitting on the fur in front of the hearth. 

Charlotte squeezes Sadie’s hands and hugs them close to her chest, slowly rubbing warmth into them. 

It’s not the first time that Sadie has felt some of her lonely leaking away at Charlotte’s touch.


End file.
